Guilty Conscience
by percyjackson2012
Summary: Kendra and Seth have permanently moved in at Fablehaven, but is this a good thing or a bad thing? The gang are thrown back into hot waters when a new problem arises! Will they be able to retrieve what has been stolen? Is the thief planning on opening Zzyzx again or do they have something else in mind? Also, why does Kendra and Seth's new trainer hate Bracken?
1. Sometimes

_**Kendra**_

_Fantasy mirrors desire._

_Imagination reshapes it.  
_

Peace. Something I had finally gotten after stopping the Demons from escaping Zzyzx. Now, along with my parents and younger brother Seth, we permanently moved in at Fablehaven.

Although, I missed my old friends and leading a normal life, I had to admit that I loved every second of being with the people I loved. Vanessa and Warren had _finally _started dating and things were going surprisingly well between the two, other than the occasional argument. Bracken visited whenever he got the chance and usually stayed for a couple of days. Seth had been hanging out at Newel and Doren's to watch T.V. He practically spent every chance he got over there, until he met Liam.

Grandpa Sorenson had decided that Seth and I needed to be properly trained on how to handle and use many different weapons. While Warren, Vanessa or Bracken would have been suitable, they were all off doing something for the Knights of the Dawn, so they had called in Liam.

He seemed to be around the age of 19 with reddish-brown hair. Standing at 6"3, Liam had made quite the impression. When I had first met him, it had been quite awkward for me because he was extremely handsome and when I shook his hand, I was reminded of the kiss I had given to Warren when he was a mute albino.

Everyone took to Liam quite well. He had a good sense of humor and was rapidly becoming a trusted friend, but there was something a bit off about him. When he was talking to people he would be upbeat and friendly, but there were times when he wasn't talking and had this depressed look in his eyes. At times like this, he seemed to be broken on the inside, as though he had experienced some sort of physical trauma that had scarred him for life.

There were times when I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he always noticed and quickly started a conversation with Seth or Grandpa as though he was determined to keep the topic off of him.

'Kendra! Time for practice!' yelled Seth, jolting me out of my thoughts. I had been sitting at the table in the kitchen, absentmindedly drumming my fingers on that table as I watched Grandma Larsen and Grandma Sorenson both scuttle around the kitchen, preparing dinner.

I stood up, suppressing a yawn and grabbed my coat before heading out to meet Liam and Seth for our training session.

* * *

Crossing the yard to where Seth and Liam stood I noticed the pile of Armour at their feet and the 2 twin blades that Liam was holding. Even from far away I noticed them because of the way they caught the sunlight and reflected it into my eyes.

As I approached them, I noticed that they both wore Bronze Armour over their clothes. Liam seemed like he didn't mind, but Seth looked like he was ready to pass out even though he'd been standing in one spot. I figured that it probably weighed a ton. Not wanting to keep them both waiting, I broke into a run.

'Hey! I'm ready to start.' I said as I skidded to a stop next to them both.

'Excellent, we'll just be doing a quick stretch and then I'll be teaching you a new tactic because your Grandma wants us back in time for dinner' said Liam. He picked up a breastplate and helped me do up the straps. Along with Seth, I was given a silver sword that had a leather hilt. Now I knew why Seth looked so worn out, these things probably weighed more than a brick of _concrete__!_

'When facing a larger opponent you need stay light on your feet and move quickly.' he explained after we finished stretching. (which was _not_ easy). 'You need to use their body mass against them. Anticipate where they will attack, block the strike and use their momentum to flip them over. Let's try it out. Come at me Seth.'

I watched as Seth swung his sword, aiming for Liam's abdomen, but he blocked the strike and pushed on Seth's sword, causing him to flip over and slam into the grass. 'You okay?' asked Liam.

Groaning, Seth got to his feet muttering 'I'm fine.'

'Alright, since Seth is smaller than me, it required more effort for me to flip him over since he's so light.' he explained. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall. After you flip them over, you go in for a quick strike and then step back because they might be able to swipe at you from the ground. Also, if you know that they're much more skilled with their weapon than you are, your best bet would be to taunt them because they'll most likely get frustrated and do something stupid. Then you take advantage of that.'

We spent the rest of the time practicing. Seth and I would try to flip each other over and Liam would give us tips and supervise so that we didn't get slammed down too hard. Time flew by and my head was pounding slightly after being slammed repeatedly onto the ground. It wasn't long before Grandma was calling us in for dinner. I undid the straps on my Armour and gave my sword back to Liam but told us to keep it.

'You'll be needing it pretty soon.'

* * *

After I changed my clothes and washed up, I headed downstairs to the kitchen where I found everybody already seated. For some reason the adults kept exchanging nervous glances as they "discreetly" watched Liam and Bracken, who were both staring at each other with irritated expressions evident on their faces.

I also noticed that Vanessa and Warren were there as well as my parents who were back from shopping. Making my way over to an empty chair, I sat down next to Bracken and tried to ignore the butterflies that erupted in my stomach when he gripped my hand tightly underneath the table.

It was quite awkward because no one was talking. I glanced at Bracken, hoping that he could tell me what was wrong, but he was too busy giving Liam a dirty look, completely oblivious to me. I looked over at Seth, but he seemed as confused as I was. The atmosphere around the table was tense and (thank god) finally ended when Grandma Sorenson placed a tray of food on the table with a loud _Bang!_

Grandma Larsen joined us at the table as Grandma Sorenson sat down. I removed my hand from Bracken's tight grip and began placing food onto my plate. It was quite an awkward dinner. Liam's words kept repeating themselves in my head._ 'You'll be needing it pretty soon.' _Did that mean that we had another problem? Surely the Knights of the Dawn would be able to handle it. The Society was not a threat anymore now that the Sphinx had changed sides. He was now an eternal and under Agad's constant watch. Could he have slipped away? Was he thinking of opening Zzyzx again?

All these thoughts ran through my head, making me impatient. Surely if something was wrong, Grandpa would know about it as the Leader of the Knights of the Dawn. and surely he would tell us about it. Wouldn't he?

I glanced around the table attempting to make eye contact with one of the adults; hoping that they would assure me that nothing was wrong. But as soon as I looked up, I regretted it. Scanning the faces of Vanessa and Warren, I noticed the small injuries they had that were not noticeable unless you were close to them. Both of them had small cuts and scrapes on their cheeks and neck. Warren had a cut on his forehead that was fading. There was a stitch running from Vanessa's chin and along her jaw line.

Then there was Liam.

He seemed worn out, even though he'd only been watching us practice and not doing anything himself, aside from the quick demo he did on Seth at the beginning of the lesson. His hands were clenched tightly around his fork, but he wasn't eating. Instead, he was staring at Bracken while grinding his teeth. Something about the way he was looking at Bracken made me uneasy. Was it the fire in his eyes as he studied his every move?

Pushing my plate away, I slouched in my chair, feeling impatient. I wanted answers!

* * *

**A new Fablehaven story! This one takes place after the Keys to the Demon Prison and centers around a new problem that has occurred, throwing the whole gang back into hot waters. I really like this story and worked really hard on this long chapter.**

** I'll also be updating a new chapter for my other Fablehaven story that will be as long or maybe even longer than this one as an apology for the long wait. **

**Tell me what you think!**


	2. we

_**Previously. . . **_

_Then there was Liam._

_He seemed worn out, even though he'd only been watching us practice and not doing anything himself, aside from the quick demo he did on Seth at the beginning of the lesson. His hands were clenched tightly around his fork, but he wasn't eating. Instead, he was staring at Bracken while grinding his teeth. Something about the way he was looking at Bracken made me uneasy. Was it the fire in his eyes as he studied his every move?_

_Pushing my plate away, I slouched in my chair, feeling impatient. I wanted answers!_

* * *

_**Kendra**_

_Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality_

_It's a way of understanding it._

Fifteen minutes. That's how long it took for Grandpa to finally give in. Seth had been staring at him (without blinking even once) from across the table for _fifteen minutes _straight. I'm not sure if I imagined it or not, because I'm pretty sure it's not possible to go without blinking for that long. At least this meant that we were finally getting answers. Unfortunately we had to wait just a little bit longer.

Grandpa Sorenson had said that he would tell us what was wrong after Dinner. I had a feeling that it had something to do with the angry looks Bracken and Liam were giving each other.

Dinner past by quickly, as I was lost in my own thought and soon enough we were all gathered in the study. By "we" I meant, Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson, Warren, Vanessa, Liam, Bracken, Seth and me.

The study was obviously not fit for all of us to be able to sit comfortably so Warren, Liam and Bracken took to leaning on the wall, while Vanessa, Seth and I sat on the chairs in front of the desk.

After clearing his throat, Grandpa began. . . and what I heard terrified me.

* * *

Have you ever had the feeling that your being watched? That someone is constantly following your every move, but every time you turn around, no one's there, but as soon as you turn back around, the feeling comes back. That was exactly the way I was feeling right now as I waited for Grandma to get off the phone.

How could this have happened? Who would even want to do something like this? It was definitely not the Sphinx, that was for sure. Agad had said that he was where he was supposed to be and was doing his job as an Eternal. How was it possible for someone to even get in? Security was supposed to be even tighter since the last time? Also, how were they able to get past all the defenses?

Feeling a wave of tiredness fall over me, I slumped further into the couch. Across from me Warren was pacing back and forth while talking rapidly on his mobile. Seth and Liam had retreated to the garden to spar again while Bracken and Vanessa were in the dungeons making sure that after everything, the prisoners were still secured. (I honestly didn't think that pairing them up was the best idea, but everyone was already, really stressed so they had promised to get along).

I had honestly hoped that everything would go back to normal. We would be able to go about our everyday lives without having to worry about another worldwide apocalypse. Everything would be fine and I might even be able to visit the fairy realm as soon as they were done rebuilding. The way things were looking, I was probably never going to have another chance at a normal life again.

I was shaken out of my thoughts by Vanessa and Bracken slamming the door to the dungeons and simultaneously plopping down on either side of me. Then, as though we were all part of some movie that was being directed by an invisible person, Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson & Larsen came back downstairs, Warren finished his conversation and shut the phone, Liam and Seth walked in through the door and put their equipment away, Coulter and Tanu walked through the front door and we all simultaneously turned our heads to face Grandpa Sorensen.

"As you all know, we've been faced with another predicament. I've consulted with the other Lieutenants of the Knights of the Dawn and we have come to an agreement. We believe that this will be the only way to right the wrongdoings that have occurred." explained Grandpa Sorenson.

"A team of 8 will be sent. They will consist only of people in this room as well as an old friend of mine and Bracken's that will meet you later. I have asked the Lieutenants to keep this information to themselves as we do not wish to spread any panic or distrust among the knights. As much as I would like to keep you safe, now is not the time."

"We must fix this problem before it becomes bigger than it needs to be. For that reason all of you will be leaving in 2 days time. I expect you all to keep this information to yourselves and for it not to be distributed around. Have a good night sleep, we will discuss more of this tomorrow."

"This totally sucks" muttered Seth, loud enough for the rest of us to hear. Judging from the facial expressions on everyone's faces, it seemed like they absolutely agreed with his statement. Well, everyone except Liam. What was up with him?

Suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over me, I bid every goodnight and climbed the staircase towards the attic, all while trying to stay awake long enough to reach my bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

**A/N: ****I know I haven't updated, and it's not because I've been lazy or didn't want to go through with this story. **

**First of all, my wireless keyboard decided it wanted to mess itself up and wont let me type, and there is now way I was going to use an online keyboard. I absolutely hate that thing.**

**Second of all, some idiot at my school decided it would be awesome to let off a smoke bomb. While I ****was in P.E. ****Then it caught on fire. So I had to stand outside in freezing cold for and hour and thirty minutes with a short-sleeved t-shirt on. The only thing that kept ****me from literally going numb would be that fact that I wrapped myself up in my friends scarf. I also missed last period, where we were going to ice our cupcakes in home EC.**

**Then when I got home I was freezing for 6 days straight. I'm pretty sure I even hallucinated while watching High School Musical with my little sister.  
**

**So anyways, that is my excuse. Also, I don't know if what I wrote makes sense but I'm feeling to scatterbrained to even try and go back and edit it. I'll do that later. I just thought you guys deserved a chapter after the long wait. **

**I know this chapter is shorter than the other one, but I have a bunch of math homework that I don't understand and the student teacher who is teaching us right now is a complete idiot and has failed to educate pretty much everyone in my class. I also started the Maximum Ride series and CANNOT put it down. Seriously though, Fang is so hot. **

**Tell me what you think of the chapter and REVIEW! or even just PM me and we can have some random conversation about how awesome Warren is! Kidding. No I'm not, but we can talk about anything or just story ideas. If you have any story/plot suggestion PM me!**

**I'll try and get a new chapter up next week around Friday.**

**Till next time, I bid thee farewell! **


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